Satyamev Jayate: Respect your parents, says Aamir Khan

July 16, 2012 05:54:48 PM ISTBy Enkayaar, Glamsham Editorial

Indian family is considered as an institution where generations live together all under the one roof, and have supposedly been one cohesive unit which is envied around the world. This indeed is the position and the prestige associated with the Indian family system. But scrap beneath the surface and the reality that comes out is horrendous. The famous Indian family system, where the elders were revered, respected and veneered has gone to seed, it just is tottering or rather is admitted into the Intensive Care unit, surviving on the ventilator.

This is what Aamir Khan focused upon in the eleventh episode of Satyamev Jayate and it was a mirror to the manner in which our society has gravitated to, characterized by the fact that the elders of the family have become a burden and they should be dumped at the drop of the hat, not to be picked up again.

Indeed, what was a trickle more than 20 years ago has become a torrent. One is reminded of an incident that had happened in Noida two decades ago. A grandchild had dumped her grandparent alongside a trash can, and this incident had made headlines. But these days it has become a common feature, as it was reported during the course of the programme, that the children on one pretext or the other dump their old parents, be it a hospital, a railway station, a park or a market place not bothering whether he or she would be able to cope up with the situation in which a child has dumped his parent.

How has the situation changed to such an extent that the old parents, who should be cared for when they cross sixties are being left to fend for themselves? Is it the economics, or the fact that the children of those old parents do not want any intrusion into their personal lives, even by their parents. Second premise seems to be the case. In the present times where careers and job hold the prime importance, everything is sacrificed at its altar.

As the country has advanced, it has factored in the requirement of the next generation for the working parents, but has not done anything for the parents of the working generation. No support system exists for them, and they remain at the mercy of their children. Ravi Chopra's BAGHBAN had made a huge success, highlighting the same premise.

Even Aamir Khan has pointed to the fact that the older generation should not live in a shrunk space, but should try to keep itself busy so that the notion of helplessness does not creep in, once one has retired from a work situation. The present generation also should not forget that they would grow old tomorrow and that they may meet the same fate at the hands of their children. BAGHBAN had underlined it, and it may become a social reality lest urgent corrective measures are put in place to correct the anomalous situation it may assume monstrous proposition and could be catastrophic for the social dynamics of the country.